Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea
Tip Sheet #28
Finding fault in paradise
“The fault finder will find faults even in paradise.” These are the words of Henry David Thoreau in Walden. These are the same words that I kept in a frame on a shelf behind my desk for the last 15 years of my career. Although I know most people read this sign, because many commented on it, these same people never thought this quote was about them. Towards the end of my career as a principal and Superintendent, I started to think that I could give some people a brand-new Chevrolet, and they would leave my office complaining that it was not a Porsche. It seemed as nothing was ever good enough for them. They found faults in everything. Their students were not smart enough, their room was not big enough, I did not listen to them enough, their parking spaces were not good enough, they did not like the food served in the building, our curriculum was outdated and I could go on and on. You get the picture. Did anything please them? I wonder about that and I wonder if they carried this attitude home with them to share with their families. If so, they would be impossible to live with.
I can vividly recall a professional development activity that happened very early in my principalship. I took four teachers with me to see a middle school in New York City. They were doing some creative things with a thematically driven choice program. When we arrived, our host hurriedly rushed up to us and apologized for being a few minutes late and she was a bit harried. Her car was just broken into and the stereo was stolen. I was concerned but she laughed it off telling us it was not the first time and it was “no big deal”. She never missed a beat. The day was an eye opener. It was not an orderly place. The noise level was incredible. There was always a constant buzz in the halls and I know a student that as I was walking by him, simulated kicking me in the butt. We all chuckled but we knew what we were experiencing was not a joke. As we drove home we spoke about how lucky we were teaching in our own district. My group was shaken and I know their problems in our school did not seem as large. A missed a huge professional development opportunity. I should have contracted a bus and brought my entire staff with me to see this school. I would bet that upon a return home our school culture and climate would have improved. This would have been better than any professional development consultant or resident expert. The lessons learned would have been invaluable.
Fault finders are emotional and then tend to perseverate over matters. They have a limited ability to be reflective and will expect others to change rather than themselves. It is always about them. They drain you and drain your team of any energy and momentum.
I will close this week’s post by sharing a story about another picture that hung in my office. It contained four different cows grazing. Each had their own space yet each had their heads in the adjacent cow’s pen eating their grass. I would ask people to look at the picture and tell me what it meant to them. About 50% of those asked got it and told me about the “grass always being greener on the other side of the fence.” They got it. Do you?
